Home • Bible Studies • The Feeding of the Five Thousand & the Sufficiency of Christ: A Study of John 6
Introductory Information
By Jake Hanson
I. Introductory Information (vv. 1-4)
Let’s begin by reading from John 6, verses 1-4. The most important Introductory Information.
“1After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). 2A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. 3Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples. 4Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.”
It’s very easy to pass over this introductory material without much notice. But Scripture, and the Gospels, and the Gospel of John in particular are working with an economy of words where every word, and every phrase, has significance, even if we do not know the significance. It is in this section that we learn four of the five most important questions that journalists or story-tellers must ask: Who? Where? When? Why? We will find out about ‘What?’ in later verses (and a bit more about ‘Why?’ as well).
Where? The Sea of Galilee
First, in verse 1, we learn where this event occurred—near the Sea of Galilee. I don’t want to put to much emphasis on this point except to say that this is traditionally Gentile territory, and that it will set the story up for Jesus walking on the sea. Furthermore, it is (relatively) far away from Jerusalem, and the home of Phillip who will be brought up in this passage.
Who? And Why? Crowds, Disciples and Miracles
In verses 2 and 3, we get some more vital information so far as I can see. We learn who is at this event, and we learn a bit about why they are there.
So, the who. The text tells us that there are two groups of people with Jesus: the crowds and the Disciples. But almost more important is the why. The crowds have come because they had seen miracles of healing, and it seems that they were interested in seeing more signs and miracles. We will also see in later verses a bit about what they saw in these signs and miracles. But this raises the question for us to ask today, and for you to consider is:
Key Question: Why do people today seek Jesus? Why do people go to church?
As you have surely thought about this, it is clear that there are both good and bad reasons people follow Jesus or go to church. And even the good reasons can be clouded with impure motives.
Some people are coming to Jesus because they have seen emptiness in life without Him. Some come to Jesus for salvation from their sins. Some people come to church for fellowship and relationships which of course can be littered with pure and impure motives. Some seek Jesus for miracles, for riches, for ecstatic experiences.
The next most important question we must each ask ourselves is this:
Key Question: Why do you seek Jesus? Why do you go to church?
These crowds were following Jesus, not because they wanted Jesus as He was, but because they wanted Jesus as they wanted Him to be. And furthermore, and more to the point in the text so far, the people wanted the benefits of Jesus, but in the end they did not want Jesus Himself.
It is easy for us to seek Jesus, or to go to church for reasons that have nothing to do with Jesus. But in the end, if you are seeking His benefits and blessings and not Him, you will be disappointed. Even as great as His benefits and blessings are, without Him, they are nothing more than a boxed lunch which will leave us hungry soon enough.
When? The Passover was Near
This is not insignificant to the meaning and interpretation of the text. However, it is not essential to the study. If you would like to go on an excursus on why John is making note of the Passover drawing near, click below for information on the Passover. The discussion will lead you back to this present discussion.